Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 238

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 238

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-20-238) supports research projects aimed at improving health outcomes in Native American populations, including Alaska Natives and American Indians. The central focus is on developing, adapting, testing, and ultimately helping communities sustain interventions that can reduce illness and prevent early death. The opportunity is designed around the reality that many Native communities face major acute and chronic disease inequities, and that these inequities are often shaped by distinct sociopolitical, historical, environmental, and structural stressors. At the same time, the FOA emphasizes that Native communities also have strengths, resources, and resilience that can and should guide effective, culturally grounded solutions.

The FOA supports several types of intervention-related research along a continuum, depending on what is already known in a given health area. First, it encourages etiologic research when there is a clear and significant gap in knowledge and filling that gap would directly inform how an intervention should be developed or adapted. Second, it funds studies that develop, tailor, or test health promotion and disease prevention interventions, including projects that assess efficacy (whether the intervention works under more controlled conditions) and effectiveness (whether it works in real-world settings). Third, it supports research that tests culturally informed treatment approaches and recovery interventions, recognizing that treatment and recovery strategies may need to align with community context, values, and lived experience to be meaningful and successful. Fourth, when there is already solid evidence that an intervention works, the FOA encourages dissemination and implementation research that identifies and tests practical strategies to overcome real barriers to adoption, integration into routine practice, scale-up, and long-term sustainability.

A major theme throughout the announcement is that interventions should not be designed as one-off demonstrations that disappear when the study ends. Instead, projects are expected to consider sustainability within the communities where the research is conducted, and to be designed with enough flexibility that they can be responsibly adapted, disseminated, and scaled to other Native communities when culturally appropriate. The FOA frames this as building on community knowledge and community resources, rather than importing solutions that may not fit local priorities or systems.

This is an R01 grant mechanism, and clinical trials are optional, meaning applicants may propose clinical trials if they are appropriate for the intervention being tested, but a trial is not required. The program sits within NIH and is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (including 93.113, 93.121, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.361, 93.399, 93.846, 93.855, and 93.879), reflecting that multiple NIH institutes and centers may have interests aligned with Native health intervention research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based organization types that could credibly conduct or partner on this work. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly references eligibility or relevance for community-anchored and minority-serving institutions and organizations, such as Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which typically means limited, well-justified elements of a project may involve foreign collaboration or activities if they are necessary and compliant with NIH policy.

Key administrative details included in the source information are that the opportunity is a discretionary grant program administered by NIH, was created on 2020-08-17, and listed an original closing date of 2023-09-07. The provided listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, suggesting applicants would need to consult the full FOA text and relevant NIH institute guidance for budgeting norms, project period expectations, and institute-specific priorities.

Overall, this opportunity is intended for teams that can combine strong scientific methods with meaningful community engagement to produce interventions that are evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and realistically maintainable in Native communities. It supports everything from foundational research that clarifies what drives a health problem in context, to rigorous testing of interventions, to the practical work of making proven interventions easier to adopt and sustain in real settings.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.121, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.361, 93.399, 93.846, 93.855, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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